Lemos defends MAS against 'crap' jibes

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Money Advice Service (MAS) chairmn Gerard Lemos has defended the organisation against the torrent of criticism it has received, insisting it is "crap".

The adjective was used to describe the service's tools by Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis, who also called it "bland, boring and unnecessary", as well as a narcissistic "brand-building exercise", while appearing before a Treasury Select Committee sub-committee last week. Giving evidence before the same committee yesterday, Lemos was challenged by Labour MP Andy Love on the use of service's £46.3m budget for money advice and its effectiveness in comparison to commercial operations. "We are transforming the service in order to reach far more people," he said. "Over the next few...

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